AI stocks fall after Samsung Electronics’ strong profit forecast fails to impress

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NEW YORK — AI stocks are seesawing lower Tuesday and weighing on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent even though the majority of stocks within the index rose. The drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry dragged the Nasdaq down 0.8 per cent, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 133 points, or 0.3 per cent.

The weakness began in Asia, where Samsung Electronics tumbled 6.9 per cent in Seoul. The giant maker of computer chips gave a preliminary look at its performance for the second quarter, and the numbers were strong. Samsung Electronics said it expects to say its operating profit surged roughly 1,800 per cent from a year earlier.

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Analysts called the numbers surprisingly good, but they still weren’t enough for investors after its stock came into the day having well more than doubled in the year so far.

On Wall Street, AI stocks have been facing similar pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high and that AI may not produce enough productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers worth it.

Micron Technology fell 7 per cent and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Nvidia sank 1.5 per cent and was just behind Micron in influence because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 4.9 per cent because Samsung Electronics alone makes up more than a quarter of the index.

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Other Asian indexes also fell, including a 2.1 per cent drop for Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, while European indexes were mixed.

In the oil market, prices rose after the British military said a tanker traveling in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile and caught fire.

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.

Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.3 per cent to US$72.93.

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Stan Choe, The Associated Press

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.